What is the main fact on which Paul's teaching in Romans 8 rests?
The foundation is that God the Father did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up by His own volition. Though He had power to destroy the whole human race and the planet, He allowed Roman soldiers to nail Him to a Roman cross and put Him to death, doing nothing to stop it.
Les explains that everything Paul has been teaching in Romans, and especially in Romans 8, rests on this one fact: the God of all creation, glory, majesty, and power, who could have destroyed the human race or the planet with a wink, did not. Instead, He let Roman soldiers nail Him to a Roman cross and put Him to death, and God did nothing to stop Him. As Les puts it, He spared not His own Son but delivered Him up of His own volition. This was not God losing control.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
More Questions
How does Paul build his argument from Romans 8:1 to Romans 8:31?
Paul builds his argument in Romans 8 from the assurance of no condemnation in verse 1 to the climactic statement in verse 31.
How does Paul get to Romans 8:31 - what has he been building toward?
Paul builds his argument progressively through Romans 8, starting from the assurance in verse 1 ('no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus') and building up to this point at verse 31.
Where does the assurance in Romans 8 start and how does Paul build toward Romans 8:31?
Romans 8 opens with the assurance "there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus," and Paul keeps building from that first verse until he reaches the statement in verse 31.
How does Romans 8:31 connect to Romans 8:1?
Paul's argument in Romans 8 builds from the opening assurance 'no condemnation' in verse 1 all the way down to the climactic statement in verse 31 about God being for us.
Who is Paul referring to when he says 'us' in Romans 8?
When Paul uses the pronoun 'us' he means himself and his fellow believers, because Paul never writes to anyone but believers.